Greenwich’s future is at stake in 2019 planning document

Town Director of Planning and Zoning Katie DeLuca speaks Tuesday May 21 before a Greenwich Chamber of Commerce event to give an update on the development of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Town Director of Planning and Zoning Katie DeLuca speaks Tuesday May 21 before a Greenwich Chamber of Commerce event to give an update on the development of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Photo: File / Ken Borsuk / Hearst Connecticut Media /

Photo: File / Ken Borsuk / Hearst Connecticut Media /

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Town Director of Planning and Zoning Katie DeLuca speaks Tuesday May 21 before a Greenwich Chamber of Commerce event to give an update on the development of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Town Director of Planning and Zoning Katie DeLuca speaks Tuesday May 21 before a Greenwich Chamber of Commerce event to give an update on the development of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation held a workshop with Katie DeLuca, director of planning and zoning, and members of the Planning and Zoning Commission. It is part of the final work on the 2019 version of the POCD, which serves as a guiding document and vision on the town’s policy regarding land use and issues.

Under state statute, the plan must be revised every 10 years. It serves as a foundation for decisions made by the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as put forth a path for the town for the next decade.

But Wednesday, DeLuca and the commission focused on longer-term issues as well.

“We need to be looking at how Greenwich is succeeding versus how we are positioning the town for the future,” commission Chair Margarita Alban said.

The main strategy for implementing the POCD will be to meet more regularly with the community at large, including the BET and Representative Town Meeting, DeLuca said. By doing that every two years, instead of waiting 10 years for the next POCD, she said the town can continue the data research that has been part of the POCD process.

According to DeLuca, that will give the town more data to use when making decisions.

“The ability to keep our tax base strong obviously is something the Planning and Zoning Commission has a lot of influence over,” DeLuca said. “Being able to ask (the BET), ‘how are we doing?’ and ... to ask (the Planning and Zoning Commission), ‘How are we doing?’ and making sure we have a better connection between these two groups is an important point.”

Alban said these conversations will also continue to include Aquarian and Eversource.

“We’re trying to talk to every stakeholder that’s involved with the town,” she said.

A plan implementation committee will be formed after the POCD is approved. It will include DeLuca, Public Works Commissioner Amy Siebert, Parks and Recreation Director Joe Siciliano, Town Administrator Ben Branyan and others.

Also, a plan advisory committee will be formed, which will likely include members of the BET, the zoning commission, the public and others, DeLuca said. Commission alternate member Dennis Yeskey stressed the importance of that committee’s work.

“We felt there are a bunch of ideas and trends in a long-range plan that are there but never actually gets acted upon,” Yeskey said. “They just sit there unless someone takes ownership of them. They just float along. What we’re trying to do with this committee is to pivot off these topics that are long-range stuff and do a mile-deep of research and come up with solutions.”

This will allow the town to put forth ideas and options that can be discussed and considered, he said.

“It’s a great planning idea for the future,” Yeskey said. “Maybe this is successful. Maybe this dies on the vine. But we thought it’s crazy not to have a group of people working on it.”

In putting the POCD together, DeLuca noted the differences in Greenwich from its neighbors. In Stamford and Port Chester, the zoning regulations were revised in an effort to build more apartment units to attract more millennials as residents.

“That’s not who we are and that’s not who we want to be,” she said. “We understand that, and we need to consider the impact that type of development around us has on our community.”

Greenwich’s proximity to New York City has always been seen as one of its competitive advantages. But DeLuca said the town needs to be focus on its competitive advantage in the future — while sustaining low taxes and a high level of services.

Alban said the town’s zoning commission has met with its planning counterparts in Port Chester and Stamford and discussed strategies. She said it makes sense for all three municipalities to work together. DeLuca and Yeskey have also been working with officials in New York City.

“They have a huge planning department and a ton of data available,” Alban said. “They’ve been helping us find ways to do demographic analysis differently, so that’s been a huge help to us. We know what their employment outlook is and what their housing outlook is, and they’ve been delighted to help us.”

The POCD will look at specific improvements that can be made as well as at larger issues such as community character, housing, schools, the environment, commercial vitality of businesses and maintaining services.

The 2019 POCD has not been released, but it is in the final draft stage, DeLuca said. It is expected to get public review and comment this summer, with a goal of gaining approval in the fall.